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Marvel’s Secret Wars crossover blasted out of the gate in May with Secret Wars #1 selling 527,678 copies in North America according to calculations by ICv2 based on rankings provided by Diamond Comic Distributors. The second issue of Secret Wars also came out in May and was the number 3 title of the month at 210,807 (a big drop from issue #1, though many reorders may not be included because #2 shipped later in the month).

Marvel’s Star Wars titles continued their impressive run in May. The flagship title Stars Wars #5 came in at #4 with 146,850—down from #4’s 203,817, but still a very impressive number for the fifth issue of any series. Darth Vader #5 landed at #8 with sales of over 113,000, down just 10K from last month. The Star Wars title that has dropped the most, Kanan: The Last Padawan, is based on a character from the Star Wars Rebels TV series rather than the movie canon. In May issue #2 of Kanan, which debuted with over 108,000 copies last month, dropped to just under 65K, which put it at #23 for the month.

In May Marvel also had the debut of its all-female Avengers comic, A-Force #1, which bowed at #6, while other female-centric Marvel titles like Spider-Gwen #4 (at #15), and Thor #8 (at #16) in which the identity of the female Thor is revealed, also made the top ten. Ant-Man #5 surged from 31K last month to over 83K as anticipation grows for the Marvel Studios movie that opens next month.

Marvel grabbed 17 of the top 25 spots in May, and the results were reflected in the marketshare numbers (see "Marvel's Share Tops 40% in Comic Stores"). Secret Wars dominated in May and pushed DC’s Convergence books down the charts. DC did manage to put five Convergence titles in the top 25, but only two of the titles sold over 100K in a month in which ten titles broke that barrier (including seven Marvels). The Convergence titles are, for the most part, returnable, and from what we are hearing from retailers there will be returns (though it should be noted that Diamond does compensate for returnability in its rankings).

The #2 book in May was BOOM! Studios’ Bravest Warrior: Tales From the Holo John #1, which sold 502,737 copies almost entirely thanks to its inclusion in a LOOT CRATE (see "Loot Crate Wakes 'The Walking Dead'"), which makes it an outlier this month, but once again demonstrates the massive numbers that inclusion in a LOOT CRATE can deliver.

Image Comics made the top 25 once again thanks to The Walking Dead, which is approaching a circulation of 70K a month, and Dark Horse made the top 25 with the first issue of Fight Club 2, author Chuck Palahniuk’s sequel to his 1996 novel.

On the graphic novel side 18 of the top 25 books were new, a higher percentage than normal. Geoff Johns’ original graphic novel Batman: Earth OneVol. 2 HC, which was originally announced for 2013, was the top title in May with sales of more than double those of the #2 book, Marvel’s quasi-graphic novel Night Nurse #1.

Rat Queens Vol. 2 from Image was a close #3 followed by another Image title Southern Bastards Vol. 2 at #4 and Velvet Vol. 2 at #15. Image also had four volumes of Saga and the first volume of The Walking Dead in the top 25 for a total of eight. DC had six titles in the top 25 and Marvel managed eight including two Deadpool collections, the first volume featuring the female Thor, a new Guardians of the Galaxy collection, and a reprint of the original Marvel Star Wars comics for Episode IV.

VIZ Media snagged the number seven spot for its Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past graphic novel, while Valiant’s The Valiant trade paperback debuted solidly at #9, and IDW’s My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Vol. 7 landed at #19.